


Dear Liu, love toby

by thesmallstorm



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Awkward Flirting, Drunken Kissing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Dynamics, Father Figures, Fluff, Found Family, Hitman AU, House Party, Hurt/Comfort, ITS HOODIE NOT HOODY, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Inspired by Music, M/M, Mutual Pining, Not Canon Compliant, Pet Names, Sexual Tension, Summer Love, Summer Romance, Tension, Toby is a father figure, dilf toby because fuck it, human Ben drowned, no beta we die like men, why the hell does my man sully not get a character tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-20
Updated: 2021-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-29 03:00:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30149733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesmallstorm/pseuds/thesmallstorm
Summary: Toby had always been on the anxious side, but when he’s forced to go to a house party and meets a captivating green eyed stranger, new worlds open for him. Bathroom hookups, sweltering summer heat, single parenting, and heartfelt journal entries.~~~It was only then that Liu grinned, catching tobys prolonged gaze. How long has he been staring at him for? “and just what are you thinking about?” His tone playfulToby just let a sigh escape his lips and narrowed his eyes, not uttering a word. He felt a soft hand press against his shoulder.“You can tell me you know?”“I’m thinking...” Toby momentarily pondered, words escaping him “about how pisspoor tonight would have been if you hadnt shown u-up”He wasn’t aware of just how close Liu was to him until he met the others green eyes at an unprecedentedly close proximity. He could feel his warm breath on his face and smell the fruity scent of his cologne. His hand moved, unbidden by its master, and took hold of lius striped scarf that was dragging the ground.“What are you thinking about?”Liu smiled, “I’m thinking about how badly I wanna kiss you right now”Heavily inspired by “Sarah in the bathroom” by awfultune
Relationships: Tobias Erin "Toby" Rogers | Ticci Toby/Liu Woods | Homicidal Liu
Kudos: 2





	Dear Liu, love toby

Beneath the heavenly body of stars and planets of all variations of color and size, the world and civilization as a whole kept turning as always. the distant cities kept hustling, street lamps in every direction kept flickering, and Toby rogers brain never stopped thinking.

It was just turning twilight outside. The sun was starting to sink over the trees, leaving nothing in its place but an orange and purple tinge to the sky. In the far distance, a honking of a car horn or other general ambiance could be heard from a town that was already ditched a few miles ago. The only nearby thing that could be heard were the crickets that were hopping in the nearby bushes or in the thicket of the surrounding woods, singing their song that always signaled that the start of summer was just around the corner.

Street lamps were the main source of light to the otherwise completely desolate and dark road that only one particular person was traveling on, from the pot holes on the uneven asphalt to the array of grass plants sprouting up through it, it was very clear nobody seemed to walk or drive on it in a very long time.

Something that was perfect for Toby rogers though. after all, it gave him plenty of uninterrupted time to get lost into his own mind, as well as not run the risk of being recognized.  
Toby idly kicked a small part of loose pavement with the toe of his high top sneaker, and made sure to up his pace to a brisk walk instead of just a mosey. as much as he dreaded getting to his destination, he would almost do anything to keep from walking anymore. If he could feel it he was positive his feet would be killing him, besides that though, the certain feel of the night air and the patches of dark clouds in the far west corner of the sky signaled that a potential downpour was very possible. the last thing he wanted was to be out here for that.  
_Not too far now, Tim said the trail was just over this hill._

He reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out his phone, the cracked screen flashing the white clock numbers reading 10:29pm. He grimaced. A little later than planned, but when you don’t have a car you make a few sacrifices in regards to the things of time, besides he’d been walking for around an hour anyway and was nearly at the home stretch. The time to worry about punctuality was long since past.

His chestnut brown hair rustled as a short early summer breeze wafted through the branches of the trees and momentarily filled the air. an all too familiar feeling of a certain anxiety and just a tinge of bitterness shot down his spine and settled deep into his core. A scowl found its way onto his face, as he picked up his pace even more,  
God, Toby hated summer.

he hated how the days got longer and the comfort of night and darkness grew shorter in length, he hated the extended period of school ending where kids were left to their own devices and used that to annoy everyone, he hated the heat. God the heat.  
He hated the heat most of all, and due to his rocky relationship with it as a whole, it wasn’t hard for him to assume that it hated him right back.

“Hey, Toby!”

From around ten yards away, a voice carried through the air and smacked against tobys eardrums, yanking him out of whatever rabbit hole his mind had thrown him down. his dark eyes looked up from the pavement and caught the familiar silhouette from under an incoming street lamp. The flickering light barley illuminated her, her sunken In cheekbones, her pale skin littered with various gashes of all shapes and sizes, her black hair that was pulled mostly back in a long ponytail.  
A smile played at tobys face as he upped his speed, walking towards the figure.

“Hey Kate”

The woman’s body lurched forward as she met toby halfway in a comforting,albeit somewhat awkward, side hug-the usual greeting that the two gave eachother whenever they crossed paths. Kate’s pale face brightened with a sort of infectious glee, as she loosened her arm around the other.  
“Thank god I thought you’d never get here” her voice rang with a playful tone, all while toby just rolled his eyes

“I’ve been walking for like an hour, lay off”

Giving her a contrived sideeye, Toby started walking past Kate. While only being a few yards out, he spotted the tarnished glint of an old metal mailbox flag in his peripheral vision. If He looked right past it, it became apparent that it marked a washed up path paved with dirt and weeds. it looked as if it hadn’t been walked in eons, the trees surrounding it were overgrown and were covered with thick green folliage. Up ahead, It looked nothing but dreary, dark and foggy,

Exactly what toby was looking for.

“‘Ey” Toby gestured over to the path In question with a jolt of his head, “Is this it?”

“Yeah, it’s not far up that way” Kate said, pointing a gloved hand to the distant horizon covered with a foggy haze.

A breath filled with a kind of dread and anxiety escapes tobys lips, without much of a choice, he pressed onward, his feet beginning to carry him down to the home stretch of his final destination, with Kate trailing no more than a few steps away from him.

The beginning of the walk was shared in a silence between the two figures, only the sound of crushing weeds and small tree branches beneath their feet filled the air. Another breeze of late spring bristled against them once again, brushing the low hanging branches of the surrounding trees and the patches of high grass in its wake. it felt a little more haunting than the time before.  
Toby looked around himself, and realized dusk had past them, and the darkness of night was all they were left with. He couldn’t spot the moon, it would be impossible to do so with the tall trees in his way, but he could spot the small streams of its beams that broke through the tree tops and acted as a little bit of a light source. If only for a few moments, his mind cleared. The darkness was a sort of special comfort to him, not just because he was more nocturnal than anything, his insomnia made sure of that, but because it comforted him, he was alone and safe in it, the thought made the weight in his core lighten.

Kate kept her head down most of the walk, her eyes only focusing on her black combat boots and not stepping in any of the small mud littered throughout. With the absence of any man made lighting it was fairly dim, but Toby was able to see just enough to take in her appearance.  
She had on a woven turtleneck sweater, tinged an olive green color. Her black jeans were highwaisted, ripped out at the knees and adorned with a few patches, they perfectly blended into the spot where her boots began. Two small earrings jangled whenever she took a step, and her hand was in the middle of turning a charm on her necklace over in her hands. He never expected to see her really wear jewelry, he’d never seen her wear it before, maybe his mind was already failing him after twenty two years of being alive but no, he probably would have seen it at least once. hell she was his best friend, of course he would. was this house party really such a formal event or something? He didn’t recall anyone passing him that memo. For a moment toby felt naked walking there. For fuck sakes he was wearing a basic hoodie with a few poorly sewn up tears, and muddy high tops that had pen scribbles of dicks on them, Not exactly what anyone would consider the height of fashion. It’s not like he exactly cared much, who was he dressing to impress at Jeff woods house party anyway? However, his mind sat chewing on the thought for a while. It would have been nice to know.

“Hey, I’m gonna be honest” Kate’s voice filled the silence, “I love you and all but I really thought you ditched for a minute”

Toby tsked “well not like I didn’t want to, i would just be dick if I left you waiting though”

Kate smacked the mans shoulder, it wasn’t very light, but toby felt nothing “good, if you did I would have killed you”

“Oh like you could,” toby returned the harsh jab as he spoke, making sure to be lighter than Kate’s, she could feel it after all.

“Yeah I could, actually. asshole” Kate said, as a smile spread on her face, “watch it”

“Yeah right” Toby shoved a bandaged hand in the pocket of his hoodie, while the other absently tugged on it’s string.

His eyes fell down to the dirt beneath his feet as he studied his shoes, eyeing a certain dried red stains on the white laces. maybe he actually should have tried to dress a little nicer, now that it came to mind he couldn’t let it go. It was common for him to get needlessly worked up over things that seemed small to others-a just wonderful perk of having clinical anxiety-but even if he knew it was a dumb thing to worry about it still crawled into his brain and sat to fester there.

His concern couldnt help but spew from his mouth, “s-should I have worn something different?”

Kate furrowed her brow as she met his eyes “what?”

“I don’t know I just feel like I look like a... something” Toby frowned, “I mean my shoes have penises drawn on them Kate”

“I assure you nobody is gonna give a fuck about your shoes, or anything else,” Kate said, “you’re literally going to Jeff woods house, for god sake penis shoes are probably the least insane thing these people have seen today”

Toby shrugged in a sort of silent agreement, even if his brain was telling him, screaming at him that his friend was lying to him and that his shoes and outfit as a whole mattered more than anything, he attempted to bury it deep down in his psyche and continued to walk, his head down and hands shoved into his pockets.

After a few minutes, the silent air was filled with a distant sound, one that only got clearer with each step they took. As they walked up a small incline and turned the corner, both of their eyes fell on a small house nestled in between a few large oak trees and tall stalks of dead grass and other plants.

The house looked dated, dated and nearly abandoned. If it wasn’t for the blaring house music that was coming from within its walls, or the silhouettes of people that passed by the cracked windows every few seconds, toby would definitely have thought they had come to the wrong place. it had a small exterior, however the house appeared to have two stories, both incased in a wooden beam siding that looked to have seen much better days; it was splintered and was almost falling off in certain locations, something that the roof shingles seemed to be suffering with as well. Half rotting steps led up to a porch covered with different pieces of furniture and houseware, all illuminated with a multicolored glow of Christmas bulbs that were apparently never put away after winter had faded. a small pathway was cut in the midst of the junk, where the door was waiting ajar for the pair to enter.

A sigh of exasperation escaped toby, he continued to fidget in place or absent mindedly turn the phone resting in his pocket over in his bandaged hands. Something. Anything to chase his mind somewhere else.

“Hey” Kate grabbed one of tobys arms, “I know you don’t want to do this”

“Woah really?” Toby spat, sarcasm dripping from every word

“Yes really” all traces of playfulness left her voice, causing tobys to follow suite. Her dark eyes met his gaze, “look I know you hate Jeff and all, which... I understand-“

With that, another sigh, “Kate I seriously think everyone hates Jeff” he said

“Well...yeah, but he’s Jeff that’s kinda expected,” Kate’s eyes softened slightly, giving his arm a reassuring squeeze, “I know he pisses you off, but at least try your damndest to play nice for like...an hour”

He broke eye contact, his arm coming up to pat his chest and whistled, one of his common motor tics, after sucking in a lung full of the night air. he took off towards the door, knowing Kate would follow his lead “y-yeah right, but don’t expect me to stay for more than that, you know ive got someone at home”

“Well you should have gotten someone to take care of that when you knew you were leaving tonight” kate smiled

“Well I didn’t” his feet hit the first porch step,

“You didn’t get a babysitter?” Her brow furrowed

Then the second step

”hes old enough to watch himself for a few hours and I trust him enough” as tobys foot hit the third and last step, his heart raced just as fast as his mind. he really should have prepared more for this, maybe hyped himself up more, or planned out what to say or do, that might have helped his anxious nature.

Kate lowered her reach and grabbed tobys hand, she gave him another soft look in an attempt to calm him; From his increasing fidgeting to his eyes being locked to the ground, the fact that he was nervous was very blatant.  
With that, she stepped into the threshold of the doorway and gave his arm a playful tug,  
“Come on toby it’s fine”

Without much choice, he followed in Kate’s footsteps and stepped inside the small house. Instantly, his ears were nearly torn off as the loud party music that was heard outside increased in volume ten fold. Tobys hands almost immediately came to his ears to plug them, it didn’t do much however, only enough for him to manage to get his head on straight and properly adapt to his surroundings.

He found himself standing in the doorway of a decent sized living room. The walls were coated in a grey paint that appeared to be on the verge of chipping, and beneath him, the hardwood floorboards creaked every time his weight shifted. The same Christmas lights decorating the front porch were also hanging from the room ceiling rafters, along with a few scattered flashing party lights that would make anyone’s eyes explode if you looked at them too long.  
Scattered in every corner of the room and house itself were an array of people, both familiar and unfamiliar. Some in groups talking about something tobys ears couldn’t quite catch, or out on their own dancing on the wood flooring, or even tables which had turned into a makeshift dance floor for the evening. Almost all of them had a cup of something alcoholic in their hand or resting next to them on a table, and Toby could have sworn he saw someone pass by with a roll of something possibly illegal in their mouth. A wild party yes, but if he was being honest with himself he expected nothing less from Jeffrey woods. It was his eighteenth birthday after all.

With her hand still latched onto tobys arm Kate began to weave her way through the maze that was made up of both intoxicated people and toppled over furniture. With only a little trouble, they headed out of the living room and into the open kitchen area, set directly offside it. With the music as loud as it was, it was impossible to get away from it, However at least this was a little less crowded, something toby was thankful for. A pair of unfamiliar faces sat next to eachother at the countertop, deep in a lighthearted conversation with another person perched on the other side of the counter, rummaging through Jeff’s fridge for something toby would not stick around to see, for Kate already had tugged him over to two vacant dining room chairs circled around a rather large table a few feet away from the main kitchen. It was only then that he was let go, and the pair sat next to eachother. Kate reached across the table and dug her hand into a large ice chest, full of what toby considered every kind of alcohol imaginable. She pulled out a bottle of something toby didn’t recognize and popped the top on the edge of the tables wood. Before she took a sip she tilted the bottle in tobys direction.

“You want some?”

Toby shook his head “No, thanks”

“Suite yourself” with that, Kate took a swig of the liquid

It was only after a few minutes of him sitting there, half of him listening to the nearby conversations while the other half zoning out completely, when from the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar figure headed right towards him and Kate, She had apparently seen him coming into the room first, for before Toby could even open his mouth, Kate’s eyes sparkled as she waved her free hand over to him.

“Hey tim over here!”

Toby felt a tinge of relief as he heard that familiar name slide off of her tongue, he couldn’t help but smile a toothy grin. Staring right back at him, was the unmasked face of his longtime coworker, Tim Wright.

His appearance was the same as it always was: slightly rugged, and covered in a cloud of smoke emitting from the tip of his cigarette. The yellow jacket he always adorned was still present, however it was fully zipped, Toby could barley see the red plaid print shirt peeking underneath it. His jeans were pressed and the soles of his shoes were cleansed of the grass and dirt from the forests he spent his time in. His white porcelain doll mask was clutched tightly in his hand.

He threw a small smile in tobys direction, as he walked over and ruffled a clump of his brown hair,  
“Hey kid”

“I ain’t a kid anymore dumbass” despite the layers of fake bitterness present in his tone, tobys eyes sparkled with playfulness as he talked, “but uh...hey”

“Pull up a chair and sit” Kate offered “there’s also drinks if you’re interested”

Tim shook his head “no no I’m alright, I actually can’t stay long I just stopped by to say hi to Jeff”

Tobys brows furrowed, “w-what why?”

“I don’t know maybe because some people are tolerant of him” Kate leaned forward only to slap toby on the shoulder

Toby turned only to shoot her a look of exaggerated disapproval and returned the smack. he eyed the bottle sat on the table next to her, despite just being opened, it was halfway empty. He made a mental not to remind her to take it easy.  
“No moron I was talking about him leaving” he turned to face tim again, “why?”

“I’m busy tonight, gotta pack for business and it’s outta state.” With two of his fingers, Tim grabbed the cigarette hanging from his mouth, only to take a long drag of it. The room filled with the smell of nicotine “I just stopped by to make an appearance, also to uh give Jeff something”

Kate’s eyes narrowed, “Hey Jeff said no gifts”

“It ain’t from me, it’s from Brian,” he unzipped his jacked partially and pulled out a small box decorated in tidy wrapping paper and a red bow, “he uh- couldnt make it and felt bad and wanted to do something so..”

“Ah” Kate settled back into her chair

“When you leaving?” Toby asked

Tim’s body language shifted, and Toby immediately picked up on the starting signs of his irritation, “Tonight. It’s a couple hour drive so I should make it there by daybreak, it’s really late notice, like really fucking late but it’s good pay. ‘Sides you know how the boss man is”

With a knowing gleam in his eyes, Toby nodded, “Yeah, believe me”

It was only then, not long into the drop of conversation between the three of them, a forth voice called out from the hellhole that was the current state of the living room. The hoarse tone carried over the loud music, over the energetic mill of the other partygoers voices, it bounced off the walls like a ball and socked right into tobys ears.

“TOBY!”

His very soul seem to grimace as he watched an irritatingly familiar man drunkenly stumble through the sea of his own house guests, not even bothering with the things of personal space or boundaries as he every so often crashed into one of them and unapologetically continued toward his destination. Toby recognized him immediately, it was impossible not to. His black hair that always hung over his eyes and in his face was still just as greasy and tangled as ever, His buckled platform boots still annoyingly stomped against the creaking wooden beams of the floor like he was trying to be more than his small 5’2 stature allowed, and his pale skin was still littered with bruises and that half scabbed over Glasgow smile that never seemed to completely heal.  
Toby really didn’t want to run into him here, not like this, not on such short notice. However the closer the man advanced, the faster tobys heart raced inside his chest. He couldn’t run, and that thought terrified him.

“Hey Jeff”

Jeffrey woods was at his home stretch now, The pounds of metal jewelry he was wearing jingled as he came to a stop right in front of the now standing toby. His appearance was much more put together than usual, however it still reeked of the scene-emo style that usually stuck close to Jeff wherever he went. His band tee was tucked into his skater pants, the collar or his leather coat was popped and the colorful self-done raccoon tails were littered all around his hair.  
His demeanor outwardly seemed gleeful, yet toby caught a glimpse of that knowing gaze of crazed evil in his heavy lined eyes.

He was in grabbing distance of him now, and Toby prayed he wouldn’t try that tonight.

“For a minute there I really thought you wouldn’t show”

Toby buried his nerves down into the pit of his being, begging that his voice would find its footing and stay even as he spoke, “Yeah well here I a-am” he feigned enthusiasm

Toby saw the outstretched hand inch towards his body out of the corner of his eye, he tried to move out the way without being too conspicuous, but Jeff was faster than he was. In an instant, he was swept from his comfortable distance and became sandwiched in between Jeff’s rather strong arm, and his solid chest. The smell of marijuana and whisky came over him like a wave, one that was almost nauseating.

“So how are things?”

It was only then that Jeff started on the trek back to the living room, and with the position the two had found themselves in, Toby was dragged along with him, he momentarily tried to fight against him, but it seemed as if Jeff had the upper hand in this case. With that in mind, Toby shot the two ditched friends a look of sorrow, before finally giving in on favor of not making a scene.  
He just needed to play his cards right, be distant and aloof. the last thing he wanted was to give Jeff the satisfaction of seeing him flip out, especially publicly. Jeff was pushy, pushy and rude. He treated everyone around him just like his victims, like toys. If he knew someone’s weak spot, he exploits it until they crack, and Toby wouldn’t let himself succumb to it.  
“Fine. They’re fine”

Before he knew it, Jeff had managed to pull him back into the disheveled and overcrowded living room. The lights were still seizure inducing and the music was still as overwhelming as before. every moment, it seemed as if another person stepped on his foot or harshly pushed his body in some odd direction, it was all he could do to keep from falling into Jeff, which would surely result in both of them toppling to the floor. Tobys hands came up once again to cover his ears, protecting them from the sound, he cursed himself for not bringing his earplugs, and he made sure to make a mental note that he wouldn’t make that mistake again.

Jeff hiccuped “so you still the father of that kid or what?”

“Har har har, hilarious” toby held not an ounce of humor in his voice as he spoke “I’m his caretaker now so yes I am, have been for like five years Jeff”

Toby caught two sources of movement in his peripheral vision. He turned his head, and was more relieved than ever to see that tim and Kate had made the decision to follow the two. Tim shot Jeff a look of disapproval, wordlessly demanding for the release of the still very uncomfortable toby in his death grip. Eventually, after an eyeroll and a dramafied sigh, his arm uncoiled from the other man. Toby wasted no time sidestepping towards the two much more tolerable people in the current conversation, making sure to stay out of grabbing distance.

Tim looked down towards Toby as he finally decided to speak up, “Really, how is he though? The kid?”

Toby shrugged, “He’s fine, same little shit as always but what can ya d-do? Ya know?” His neck cracked as he fingered in place momentarily “if he doesn’t do his homework though I’m gonna kill him”

A chuckle arose from Kate, “Knowing him thats impossible”

Toby smiled, “what can I say? The adhd and horrible time management comes from me”

“Shithead you didn’t even get a babysitter, you can forget about homework”

Tim’s face contorted to that of seriousness, “What? You didn’t?”

Toby felt the sudden need to come to his own aid, “Oh fuck off don’t tell me how to parent. He’s twelve years old, he can watch himself without burning the house down, he knows how serious arson is taken in my house anyway. besides I gave him a list of numbers to call and some money if there’s an emergency, it’s fine”

“Whatever you say” Tim decided to back off

“He’s your kid rogers” Jeff snickered “it wouldn’t surprise me if he burned your neighborhood down too”

Toby turned to stare into Jeff’s dark eyes, they were dancing around his face, awaiting an answer to the personal jab at the man. Toby has to make sure to choose his words carefully here.

His kid first came into his life when he was seventeen, due to very unforeseen circumstances and his colleagues being a dangerous level of negligent while out on a hit. Despite his age, inaptitude to raise a child, and overall odd form of living, when he realized that being a caretaker wasn’t gonna be a temporary gig, he immediately knew he needed to play the long run in this case. The kid was only seven at the time he came into tobys care. he wasn’t very verbal at the time, he would often hide in corners or off in the room toby had given him and not come out unless he needed to, he was small, small and vulnerable.  
Toby knew his coworkers, he knew them very well. He’d worked with them all of his adult life. he’d seen them do their job, as gruesome as some of them tended to be, and never slip up. He knew that they were cunning, and that if they had anything against a person, it wouldn’t be long before they found a thing close to them and use it as their ace. Toby knew that for bens safety, he should keep their personal things personal.

“He’s not my kid, he’s my roommate that happens to be a minor, he needs a caretaker so I’m here, f-fuck off”

“Uh huh” with that, Jeff took a step back and wordlessly dipped out of the conversation and back out to the dance floor. Toby was grateful when he realized that he was out of the picture

Tim took another drag of his cigarette, “Your Kid or not, I’d be more careful watching him, remember a few years ago when he ran off at the park and you couldn’t find him for like... three hours?”

“He w-was eight and we got one of those leash backpack things to keep that from happening, good thing too, little fucker can run” toby momentarily grimaced remembering the event, he was panicking so much that it took both Brian and Tim’s full attention to get him to calm down enough to look around, it was just as traumatic as it was embarrassing to look back on.  
“But yeah I get it, I really dont leave him for more than three hours anyway, I would get someone to watch him more often but I don’t trust anyone to do it, for a stranger to be in my house with him...alone like that? It just doesn’t sit right with me”

Toby shrugged “I’m trying my hardest”

Tim mused “Parentings tough, I get it. It was hard on me and Brian when we had to keep you for those few months, cant imagine how hard it is to raise a twelve year old by yourself like that”

“You’ll never let that go I was seventeen!”

“You broke my tv!”

Toby ran a hand through his hair, his face mocking a look of annoyance before continuing “i mean yeah, it’s hard sometimes, it’s not perfect-obviously, but I’ve been keeping him for years, it’s just the new normal, besides I like having someone at home to get back to a-anyway”

“Oh Yeah, thats the best part” Tim smiled,  
“I’m serious though, You still owe me a new tv”

Toby smiled “if you insist, asshat”

The conversation lulled after that, all parties fell into a comfortable silence with eachother. After all, talking was a feat here, it was nearly impossible to be heard and speak at a normal volume in this particular atmosphere anyway.  
Slowly but surely, tobys hands unclasped from around his sensitive ears and burrowed in his pockets once again. It was still loud yes, but after a while the noice that funneled through him became one lump of background ambiance that the could drown out if he fled into the depths of his mind far enough. For just a few moments, he felt the nerves deep in his core begin to uncoil and his body started to relax against the old beams of the walls that he leaned against.

His eyes lingered on Kate and Tim for a while, and watched as they were swooped up into a conversation with a couple that Toby didn’t recognize. However it didn’t seem to matter, as the now group of four made their way to the makeshift dance floor, disappearing into the wave of dancers and alcoholics.  
When he realized he could no longer spot them in the sea, he could feel his usual anxious nature began to slowly seep back inside him, but the ever growing fear of that hellhole a few feet in front of him stopped him from setting out to find them. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling of unease that bubbled up inside him, whether that be his anxiety or just plain awkwardness causing it-well, that was anyone’s guess.

Without even thinking about it, he found himself suddenly on the defense, unknowingly staring down a few stray party goers that passed him every few moments, wordlessly telling them to not mess with him. Slowly but surely, a tight bubble around him formed, and at that realization, he felt just a little more safe.  
Toby half listened as song after song slowly faded out with a few stray notes, then after a few quieter moments, get replaced by another that was just as upbeat and infernal. He hadn’t realized how long he’d been standing there zoning out until he heard this happen multiple times over. He blinked a few times and steadied himself back into reality again, one that was was just as overwhelming and loud as he remembered. His hands were unsheathed again, as came up to cup his face. It’s loud, Has it always been this loud?

He was so overwhelmed in the moment, that he didn’t catch the large form sneak around the corner, or the sound of claws hitting the wooden floor beneath them and it make a beeline for him. It was only when he felt something brush against the fabric of his jeans that he realized that his space was being shared with something now. something furry, and big

His eyes trailed down, only to spot a very large, furry, and beautiful Siberian husky, peering up at him with the same bewildered stare that Toby himself gave it.

The first thing he noticed about them was their size, this dog was huge, and coming from someone who works around dogs on the regular, that meant a lot. A paw that was as big as his hand rested solemnly on the toe of his shoe, and the huge wad of cream and black fur that was their tail swayed back and forth like a metronome. If it wasn’t for their calm eyes that were that trademark husky blue, or the fact that the dog showed no sign of being dangerous, he would have definitely be at least a bit intimidated by them. Who would even think to bring a dog, much less a dog this size, into a house party like this and just leave it unsupervised?

Going as slow as he could for the sake of not scaring away the animal, he bent down and slid his knees to the floor. With only a few inches separating him from them now, he cautiously held a hand out on front of their muzzle. The odd sensation of the dogs wet nose against his bandaged skin as he sniffed his palm was surprising, but not completely unwelcome. As soon as the dogs tongue lolled out of its mouth to give his hand a friendly lick, Toby took that as a welcome sign. His shaky hand slowly extended outwards, before coming down to tangle itself in the blanket of the soft thick fur in front of him.

The fact that he was at such a loud overwhelming place got pushed to the back of his mind for only a few moments, as he brought another hand up to scratch the back of the dogs ear, which they more than welcomed. A low rumble came from their core as they leaned their head into tobys hand. The more affection he gave them, the more a look of happiness etched permanently on the dogs features glowed, it was almost like he was smiling at him.  
Warmth blossomed in his chest, as he spent the next good ten-ish minutes loosing his anxiety in the comfort that the moment brought him. Despite the oppressive atmosphere that left much to be desired in terms of comfort, that bubble that encased him radiated a sort of safety from outside now. He wasn’t really thinking about Kate, tim, Jeff or the others. He let them slip away for a few brief moments.

Until

“He’s cute isnt he?”

His bubble popped.

It was then that Toby froze. His hands still tangled in silky fur ceased all of their motion and his mind started to draw blank after blank. It seemed as if the only thing that was moving was his heart which began to pick up speed rapidly. That voice. he didn’t know that voice. Who was that?  
His eyes were still fixated straight ahead, however curiosity quickly took hold. as he began to move his head up, his eyes trailed the figure, starting at his black platform boots.

In front of him, was a man, that looked around Tobys own age. From this angle, he appeared tall, but he speculated that if he stood to his full 5’6 stature, that might not be the case. His ripped black jeans fit his slim legs perfectly, and a small metal chain clipped to his checked belt shimmered in the party lighting. His frame was swallowed by a black overcoat that rested on top of a button up that Toby couldn’t tell the color of in the obnoxious lighting. Resting on his neck and shoulders, was a knitted grey and black striped scarf that hung down to his knee.

huh, well he had never seen him lurking around before.

Toby didn’t realize he was staring up at the man until he spotted a pleasant smile grace his features. Immediately, he regained his senses and scrambled off the floor to his shaky feet again. He was all of the sudden shoved back into the world once again, and it took a few moments for him to compose himself before turning to the other to answer him.

“Ah! Uh the d-dog yeah” tobys voice came out as shaky as he felt, he internally cringed at the sound

“I didn’t mean to scare you or anything sorry!” Humour dances across his face as he raised his hands up in surrender “I just was looking for cooper, he got spooked and the fucker got away from me”

His knees bent as he brought himself lower towards the floor. His hand lightly slapped the side of his thigh as he coaxed the husky, presumably cooper, to come back over to him. It took a few minutes of this, however finally, cooper managed to tear himself away from toby, and happily bounded over towards the mans outstretched arms. He gave a few greeting licks before coming to a stop at his side.

“No you’re fine don’t worry I was just...zoned out I guess” toby gestured to cooper, “he yours?”

The man shook his head as he slightly leaned down once more to pet cooper, “Nah, hes Jeff’s actually, I’m just a pet sitter. a lot”

A small smile found its way into tobys pale face, “Oh huh, didn’t know Jeff had a dog”

“I didn’t know he did either and I live here!” A pleasant laugh filled the air as well as tobys senses. A certain kind of unfamiliar warmth boiled inside him, “he just showed up when I came downstairs one morning and that was that”

“Ah”

For a few moments the two were silent, Toby shuffled his shoe against the floor while Liu stared down at cooper. Eventually the other man was the one who broke the quietness between them.  
“I uh...haven’t seen you around before, I mean I know Jeff has a lot of friends and throws a lot of parties but-”

“Oh no actually uh this is the first Jeff woods party I’ve been to” toby confessed, “I’m not really...built to be a party person. like at all”

The man smiled “Neither am I, I participate some but I stay up in my room most of the time, too much shit going on ya know? trying to block out that insufferable music Jeff loves to play is plenty”

Toby stared at the man fondly. That warmth within him began to turn quickly into a sizzle “T-thank god I’m not the only one who n-noticed that”

“People are just too drunk to care I guess”

Toby turned to directly face the man, fully taking in his appearance up close. It was difficult with the lighting in the way, however he was able to piece together just enough.  
Wavy auburn hair fell down to his shoulders and around his face, partially concealing his eyes, his skin was tanned and radiated with the glow of health. His jaw was well defined and his cheeks were rosy and appeared soft to the touch. the skin that was exposed, mainly his face, was littered with scars. small rows of stitches were present along his cheeks and on the bridge of his nose, they appeared aged and already grown over with some of his skin.  
The lights were bright and intrusive, however toby caught sight of the deep emerald green eyes that relentless studied him. a twinge of painful familiarity struck him at the sight, they reminded him of someone long since passed.

“I’m Liu”

“Toby”

Giving a soft grin, Liu slid his body to the same wall toby was, making sure to leave a comfortable distance between them, and leaned his back against it.  
“So...Who dragged you?” He asked

Tobys brow furrowed “Huh?”

Liu ran a hand through his hair “I mean...you said earlier that you didn’t like parties, so who dragged you here?”

“Oh pfft well, Someone who got drunk and disappeared into...That” Toby gestured to the dance floor, catching glimpse of a small scuffle that was going on in the midst of it “good for her I guess but I’m not gonna go out there l-looking”

“I wouldn’t, swear to god that place probably has every catchable thing ever”

Toby tried yet failed to hold back his laughter, Liu huffed and despite the smile on his face, his tone was serious,  
“I’m being for real! you don’t wanna know what I’ve cleaned up over there on the mornings after”

Tobys composure retained itself “No I fuckin believe it”

There was another pause in their small talk, which toby took advantage of to further peer out into the crowd. His body became elevated only on the balls of his feet as he scanned all the unfamiliar faces. Yet, Even after that, there was still no sign of Tim or Kate anywhere. Toby sank back to his normal stature much like his stomach seemed to be doing inside his body. Despite knowing them well, and knowing without a doubt that neither of them would do such a thing intentionally, he couldn’t shake the slight pang of hurt he felt when he realized they were actually gone and not just out of his line of sight. That feeling began to mix with the wonder of where they went off to. they couldn’t have ventured far, surely not. This house was only so big after all. Besides, he knew them well enough. However the feeling still nawed at him nonetheless.

Toby didn’t realize Liu has been studying his body language until he opened his mouth to speak “So...she really just stranded you huh?”

“Uh two of them actually, but I think I...put it too harshly, Kate’s my best friend and I crashed on tims couch for like a month, this was more of a slip up that’s just freaking me out” little by little, Toby allowed his inner turmoil pent up from the night to show outwardly “but honestly even if it was an intentional thing? Fair, I mean I was so busy with work shit and also trying to help my..roommate out with school I completely forgot to take my meds today so I’m more anxious than usual, plus just being here with loud music and flashing lights isn’t exactly my kind of feel good experience. I’m lame as all fuck I’d probably s-strand me too” he finished with a laugh

Lius expression turned into that of genuine concern, “Damn are you alright? Like actually?”

It was only then that Tobys gaze turned away from Liu ”eh uhhh-I’m sorry, yeah I just really..”his voiced trailed as he looked onto the crowd one final time, His eyes scanning the shaking room, the people out on the floor to seemed to be having the time of their lives, the host in the middle of it all shooting two shots at once while onlookers cheered. The sheer difference between him and the rest of them jumped out at him ever so suddenly and he felt almost as if he had been shoved in a corner of isolation. He was usually one to lag behind as far as social skills, cues and the like were concerned, hell he was homeschooled, nerodivergent and isolated for all of his life after all so that was to be expected, however he’d never felt that certain level of distance between him and the rest of the patrons so sharply and so hard.

Liu must have been watching the emotions play out on tobys facial features, for he cleared his throat before pulling him out of his thoughts by starting to speak, “Hey tell you what! I actually was just about to take cooper back outside, he’s actually an outside dog and honestly god knows what he can pick up off the floor in here”

Tobys face molded into that of genuine confusion, why was he telling him this? “oh yeah?”

“Yeah! So uh... do you need a reason to get out of here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! This chapter is a set up for the next chapters so I apologize if it’s a little on the longer side! I also tried to write some of tobys tics but it’s hard to write them, even with tics of my own! Criticism, comments or whatever is always appreciated


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